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The 30 Best Features of Windows
Barence writes "PC Pro has picked out its 30 best features of Windows 8. Its countdown includes features such as the revamped Task Manager, the option to run ISOs and VHDs natively, and Windows To Go, which allows you to take a portable installation of Windows 8 with you." They've also listed ten features they'd like to see added to Windows 8, "including the return of the Start button on the desktop, virtual desktops and one-click sharing of optical drives."
Is that Windows 8 has 30 features
I was honestly not aware that Windows doesn't have "virtual desktops." Stunning. It's like a TV with one channel.
Sent from the iPad I found in your car.
I'm not clicking through 8 pages, each of which seems to load a popup, just to read a list of 30 items. And judging from the first couple of pages I could stand to look at, the article is hyping up some very un-newsworthy information indeed! There's nothing worse than a site with tid bits of "information" surrounded by an orgy of advertising. Get lost!
Yet another "click here dozens of times so we can get more advertising revenue" article. This could have been done in 3-4 pages, not 10+.
They also clearly haven't used Windows 7 as it has the ability to mount VHDs as well. (Windows 8 improves upon that by adding ISO mounting support) The way they wrote that "feature" is as if the VHD mounting is absent in previous versions.
LOAD ".SIG"
PRESS PLAY ON TAPE
Spam, with a dubious download awaiting if you should happen to visit one of the many links to the site in the post. "MyCleanPC.com", along with sister site "DoubleMySpeed.com" were exposed ages ago as a scam, despite a veneer of legitimacy provided by some TV adverts. Just another one of those so called "security tools" which then proceeds to find a lot of problems with your PC and then requires you to "register" to fix the so called problems.
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
10. Quit whoring for pageviews with needlessly split up articles
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Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
To me, where BitLocker or another disk encryption tool means the difference between a hardware write-off and insurance claim versus having to report to every manager up a chain, as well as the press, I consider the basic Windows 8 security upgrades to BitLocker important.
It would be nice if they would allow non-TPM encryption without a USB flash drive, because not many machines have TPM/TCG compatible motherboards these days.
However, I can deploy images that are already BitLocker encrypted, or just tell the machine to encrypt used space in Windows 8. With the new hardware encrypted HDDs, I can have BitLocker deal with those as well.
Yes, this is boring, but anything that ensures that an attacker isn't going to get data should a laptop be stolen is important for day to day IT.
I agree with number 1 (Bring back the start button) if only for consistencies sake. Windows has had a start button for years and years, and most graphical operating systems have some a main system button in one form or another. Why fix it if it ain't broken? (An argument that could probably be applied liberally to 8's new GUI...)
Number 2: Blu-ray support would be nice, but I actually like how they have removed most of the optical media licensing crap to the media/media pro packs (or whatever they are called). By the time 8 is out, I would bet a majority of consumer-grade computing devices won't have an optical drive. Blu-ray should be supported in the media pack, but I have no qualms if it isn't in the default stack of cards.
As for number 3 (One Click Optical Drive Sharing), I think this might be the most valid criticisms on the list, mainly for the same reasons stated above: optical drives are going away. I currently have one optical drive in the house and have it shared via samba and few other ways, but this is a read-only approach.
Number 4 (Drag to open) doesn't seem like a very harsh criticism, it feels more like list padding. I don't use drag and drop for just about anything after having found the keyboard is much faster though, so I should recuse myself from commenting on this one.
As far as Virtual Desktops go (Number 5), it is technically unfeasible, for reasons I don't quite remember. Something to do with the way Windows handles windows which has escaped me for the moment. Nevertheless, there are third party applications of varying quality that already implement this, to a varying degree.
Bring back visualbasic? (Number 6) No. Just no. That thing was a mess. Friends don't let friends script VB, drunk or otherwise.
Number 7: Fonts preview app: I have the win8 consumer preview running in vmware right now, and the font folder looks pretty much untouched from win7. It still lets you preview installed fonts. More list-padding?
I've got an easy fix for 8 (Dual-pane explorer). Use two explorer windows, one on the right one on the left. Or feel free to use something like Total Commander or its variants. They still make those, right?
As for 9, I'm sure Microsoft is going to give a little polish to the out-of-box-experience. Just cause the alpha doesn't have it, doesn't mean it won't be there.
10 is valid. I don't like where the shutdown button lives on win8. Move it up one level, just so that it is a little easier to find. I don't like to hunt and peck for a basic system function.
That abomination that is Metro is enough to kill the deal for me. I will use Win 7 until it's end-of-support. Meanwhile, I'm dual-booting Xubuntu so that when 7 comes to an end, I'll already be comfortable with a different OS.
Half of those "new" features are already in Windows 7, like AppLocker. I have USB3 support now. Sure, it's not "native", but it works, so who cares?
A lot more interesting are the new features under the hood of Windows 8 server. Take a look at this article for example: Optimizing for Latency-Sensitive Applications: scenario overview.
Sure, it's not visible or shiny, but wow those are some big changes!
It's too bad that one of the features of Windows 8 isn't "Not a piece of crap".
As a Linux user, let me say, this is not insightful, interesting or informative. It's flamebait.
#1 Feature: You *don't* have to run it!!!!! Stick with Win 7, or Linux, Mac OS X!
Gosh, how clever.
Remember, Windows 7 is really Vista ver. 2.0.
Remember that thing that's not true, you mean? Think of what made Vista a failure before opening your mouth.
Windows 8 will be another Windows ME, or Vista...
It might be a failure. You could check out the missing features, if you'd like to try R'ing a FA.
Don't pay to be a Beta tester for Microsoft operating systems!
You can do that for free. It's called a developer preview.
--
Why would you be looking for new features in an article about the best features? You are aware they're not the same, right? And often, new features don't work very well right? So, from a logic standpoint, I'd expect many of the best features of most OSes to be anything but new.
if you click the link marked print this you will get everything on one page, yes it pops into another window....
It has to be a joke. First because some are quite funny (my favorite is the one where the guy had cancer and his family left him, but then he found MyCleanPC and everything was dandy). Second because creating multiple accounts to post on /. is a bit time consuming, especially given that this is arguably the worst site for spamming that sort of scam - it has a very high incidence of tech-oriented nerds, way too many running OSX, Linux or something weirder, and very few grandmas.
It is so annoying everytime if I just want to look at a file or to open it in different editor, or delete I file I need first to search the app that opened it. In Linux you just open the file with whatever you want, move it, delete it, etc. no problems.
#2, virtual desktops.
If I work on a project and then want to look something up, or someone comes with an USB stick and I need to copy it, and open the files, I just switch the desktop. It's like you have one table full of stuff, then you go to a different table to eat your pizza, and then you go back to your work table. You don't put away your work stuff so you can eat the pizza, you just go to the kitchen table.
#3 Fast file system checks.
The fsck on Linux takes only 20 seconds for 100GB (ext4) why does Windows need minutes for a check?
#4 A good command prompt
I really hate the 1990 DOS command prompt. Can we please have a modern command prompt in the year 2012? A modern cmd prompt is: any true type font, any size also full size, completition of commands with tab key, searchable history of cmds, different background, different text color, etc. For an example of a modern cmd prompt, see Konsole (KDE).
#5 Ease change of the desktop environments
I mean a complete change, not just like a theme. I really like to replace the whole Windows desktop with KDE.
#6 Good SSH integration.
In Linux I can type in anywhere: ssh-add and it adds my ssh key for every program. Why can't it be that easy in Windows?
http://www.mueller-public.de - My site http://www.anr-institute.com/ - Advanced Natural Research Institute
Perhaps you read the title as "The 30 Best New Features of Windows 8", as I did, which is not what it says. Regardless, I found some interesting:
* Split-screen for Metro-style apps
* Trial periods built in to the Windows store
* Picture passwords
* Windows To Go booting from removable drives
Clearly Microsoft hears complaints from users that computers are too complicated. Their solution, unfortunately, is to keep hiding things. Like that helps.
I think it started with "personalized menus": the menu items you haven't used in a while get hidden... which rather defeats the purpose of menus, because you're less likely to remember seeing those less-used features to know they exist, and when you go looking for them, they're concealed. Filename extensions apparently confused some people, so now they're hidden... making it easier to trick people with trojans disguised as Word documents, befuddling them when they see two files (of different types) with the same name, and rendering files "unopenable" if they get saved somehow with the wrong (hidden) extension. They've been doing it with IE in a big way: taking buttons off the standard toolbar, removing button labels, and recently hiding the whole damn pull-down menu bar! The MS Office "ribbon" left me scratching my head trying to find the "print" button (or menu option) the first time I encountered it. The Start button has lost the word "start"... not exactly hidden, but no longer as easy for newbies to find when told to click on it. In Win7 (maybe it was Vista), the "log off" and other I'm done-using-the-computer options are now hidden under a non-descript arrow button. And now in Win8 (which I've looked at in preview only long enough to get frustrated trying to re-orient myself) they've hidden the Start button altogether, and made Shutdown even harder to find.
Instead of actually simplifying the system, what they're doing is the equivalent of sweeping the complexity under a rug. It's still there. And often you still need it. But it's harder to get at. They're shoving more and more features into the system... then hiding them away. Along with a bunch of the old ones. Eventually it will get simple enough for my aged mother to use it... but by then I will find it totally unusable.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
Here's the list not spread over 9 pages. I'm surprised there are 30 new things worth commenting on.
#1. Interactive tiles
#2. Task Manager
#3. Run ISOs and VHDs natively
#4. No new hardware requirements
#5. Airplane mode
#6. SkyDrive integration
#7. Windows Store
#8. Interactive lock screen
#9. Split-screen apps
#10. Split touch keyboard
#11. App contracts
#12. Fewer surprise restarts
#13. Cross-device synchronisation
#14. Improved 3G support
#15. Built-in antivirus
#16. Picture passwords
#17. Instant search
#18. Windows To Go
#19. Secure Boot
#20. Revamped Explorer
#21. Restore PC
#22. Thumbnail previews
#23. Metro groups
#24. Kinect for Windows
#25. AppLocker
#26. Reset PC
#27. File copy revamp
#28. Faster boot times
#29. Native USB 3 support
#30. Panoramic background images
ten features they'd like to see added to Windows 8, including the return of the Start button on the desktop
It's called the Stockholm syndrome, an "apparently paradoxical psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them"
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
Here's the problem with unified Console/PC multilayer: the mouse and keyboard. It's a much better interface for certain types games and if you let console and pc gamers into the same sandbox the console users are gonna get their heads kicked in and not have a very good time of it.
For as long as I've been here slashdot has been a proving ground for bots of various types. Goatse guy is actually a key Debian developer doing counter captcha research. This one's developer just has a different sense of humor.
Help stamp out iliturcy.
Even having used them myself, I don't get the appeal of what basically amounts to a poor-man's alternative to having multiple monitors.
For me, the problem is that multiple monitors don't give me enough real estate compared to virtual desktops. I run the Microsoft-written "TopDesk" at 11x3, so that means my total desktop space is 21120x3600 pixels.
I can have a dozen programs maximized without having to hunt through them (one keystroke plus one mouse click gets me to any open window). In addition, it's easy to group sub-tasks together onto one desktop. So, I can have 3-4 terminals open to a Linux machines to configure nfs client and server, and video and audio editing software also open, yet neither group of windows interferes with the other. In addition, my e-mail client, web browser, and a spreadsheet are also open without getting in the way of any other tasks.
I can also easily configure windows to always open in the same location, which can be a problem with multiple monitors. Then, too, moving windows around from one desktop to another is much easier, as I have the overview of the whole workspace, and can move the window using that (and that has shortcuts that allow me to snap the window to special places).
There's nothing wrong with multiple monitors (although it can be an issue when you use a KVM as I do), but adding virtual desktops gives you another whole level of window management tricks to employ.
I tried it, and it really is the worst product Microsoft has ever made. Metro is awful, and the Win8 desktop is a step backward. And it's a memory and resource hog.
Please, don't take my word for it - download it yourself. It makes Unity look almost good.
Let's call it what it is, Anti-Social Media.
I have to agree, after running both the dev and consumer previews, as well as setting up a machine with consumer preview in the shop to let common folks try it there is one thing we could all agree on and that is "Metro UI sucks on desktops".
Maybe it'll be nice for tablets and smart phones, who knows, but considering that MSFT owns less than 5% of the smartphone and tablet market and 90% of the desktop taking a big old dump on the desktop for a shot at smartphones is a DUMB fucking idea. I ran it for nearly a month on my home desktop before I wiped it, Metro UI just seemed to be fighting me every step of the way. And I agree with you on the suckage of resources as well, all the updates of those stupid always on metro "apps" slammed my network constantly and the thing was blowing through more than 2.2Gb of memory. Compare this to win 7 with all the bling, aero, AND more than a half a dozen tray apps and it would top out at a little over 1.3Gb.
So please, everyone who doesn't believe, try it for yourself here and you'll see what all the hate is about. Some have pointed out I hated the QL on win 7 but TBH after seeing what a slow uptake there was on Vista i didn't think companies would jump to support the new QL like they did. Without practically every application supporting jumplists the Win 7 tasklist would have been IMHO a serious step back over the XP QL but I'll be the first to admit now that its widely supported the Win 7 way is nice.
There is just NO way that I can see that one can take a cell phone touch based UI like win 8 and make it a nice experience for your average laptop or desktop user, the differences between designs is just too steep. Watch the MSFT videos talking about win 8 for yourself and count how many times they say "touchscreen". last one i saw i quit counting at 30. Now does ANYBODY think with the x86 PC business being so damned cutthroat they are just gonna eat the $100+ cost per unit to include touchscreens?
I'm sorry but win 8 is a BAD design and I'm just glad I've gotten the majority of my customers as well as my family onto Win 7 so we can all just skip win 8 completely. Touch UI is fine and dandy for a tablet, much better than the pen approach, but I have NO desire to poke my netbook or desktop all damned day. As for TFA frankly I don't see much there that can't be had for free with third party products such as process explorer for Task manager. BTW check out #4, even for the "old kit" they used for Win 8 was a touchscreen laptop! Seriously how many current laptops and desktops are touchscreen? 2%? 3%? Kinda sad when even the ones plugging the OS aren't putting it on non touch devices...hmmm...wonder why?
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
X is awesome but seems nobody knows how to really use it. I run Cygwin with X on Windows and everyone keeps asking me what operating system I am running when running Unix apps and Windows apps at the same time.
120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
My problem with multiple monitors is they seem to be contageous. They are like a herpes or something. In the office and soon as one person hooks up the second monitor, it starts to spread amongst their department and then others. Eventually someones symptoms get worse and they spring up a 3rd or someone presents differently with a 90* rotation... soon it's this big pissing match of who has the most productive workspace. Next thing you know, you have a 2x3 grid of 30" super high-res monitors and your open gl screen saver won't work because some limitation at 4096 pixels... and all windows in the center monitor because it strains your neck to look so far left or right.
120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
It's Netscape, isn't it? ;-)
I am John Hurt.
You just showed that you know nothing about modern versions of Windows. DOS is long gone (the command prompt is not DOS) as are some of the old Windows APIs. In fact XP Mode is free for the Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise versions so that businesses can run legacy apps.
The third party tools don't work very well, primarily because they are hacks and 99% of software isn't designed to work with them, including the base window manager...
OSX used to be the same, under 10.4 and earlier the virtual desktop hacks were buggy, didn't fit in well with the rest of the system and most apps didn't expect them to be running. Since spaces was included by default in 10.5, osx apps awareness of multiple desktops has improved massively.
X11 has always had virtual desktops, so its support for them tends to be the best of the 3 by far.
I can understand how you would find virtual desktops less useful, having only used very poor implementations of them...
As someone who has access to a desktop with 4 screens, i actually find virtual desktops to be better than physical screens in most cases... Off the top of my head:
Less head movement, all the virtual screens are in the same physical place so i dont have to keep adjusting my viewpoint and dont get distracted by movement out the corner of my eye...
Works on laptops - i use a laptop for a lot of my work, and it would be impractical to carry a second screen around with it..
Lots more - you can have many virtual desktops - i tend to have 16, a similar number of physical screens becomes completely unwieldy both to physically look at, and to drive (you'd need a system full of videocards, or a cluster using something like xdmx).
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
No sorry, I am not. I wish I was because I am sure to get down modded for my blasphemy.
Entry points:
http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/search-results?query=LINUX&search_type=all&cves=on
Hooks:
any shell script/start-up script (many execute with user write permission out of your home folder) do you have a compiler on your system?!
The only thing saving linux from beeing rooted often is its userbase. Does Linux have anything like windows SFC? No not really. At least there are only a handful of auto-run methods in windows and a subsystem that does a somewhat decent job of enforcing no new hooks are created.
Sad fact is because Linux is so open it's mostly a race between white hats and black hats. Add desktop users and desktop apps into the mix and there will be more black hats and a longer delay between applied fixes.
You may argue that most linux problems are third party software or configuration, but I can argue the same for Windows.
That said, I use both... but in by no means is my descision to use either based on this false sense of securtiy about the mal-ware eco-system.
120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
If Linux gets something Windows or MacOS have had for years, like, day, the ability to play sound from more than one program at a time without special setup or hardware mixing, that is a major improvement, something to be lauded, etc. However if Windows gets a feature something else has had, it gets looked down on, as though the first OS to get the feature should be the only one, ever.